


Bath Time

by kijikun



Series: Blessed [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Gen, fledging fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:27:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27765220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kijikun/pseuds/kijikun
Summary: Dean gives his daughter a bath.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Blessed [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2014633
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	Bath Time

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Original written May 2010  
> Beta: krystalicekitsu and samjohnsson  
> A/N: An outtake from Blessed is His Child, set in Chapter 4

If Dean pretends hard enough, there isn't another archangel in the house. There isn't one more _angel_ he has to trust not to betray his family. They can't do this alone though, and they need help, and these are Cas' brothers -- but Dean can't handle it right now. So he's pretending.

And he's giving his daughter a bath.

Dean watches Elle play and crawl around the bath rug. Her onesie is already off, so it's naked baby time. He checks the water temperature of the tub one more time. He's gotta remember that what's a good temperature for him might be too hot for her.

"But then who knows with you being half angel, huh?" Dean asks Elle.

She coos at him as wraps her small hands in the material of his shirt and tries to pull herself up. "Bath?"

"Yep, bath time. Want your lion to join you?" Dean stretches his arm out, and she takes a few shaky steps using him for balance. When she starts to wobble, he catches her and draws her to his chest. He knows you got to let kids fall sometimes, but there are too many sharp corners and hard surfaces in the bathroom. Bobby's place isn't exactly kid proof. Christ, it's lucky he and Sammy didn't get more than scraped knees trying to climb up onto junked cars.

Elle contemplates the lion that sits on the floor by Dean's legs. "Lion swim?" she asks after a moment.

He wonders sometimes if she's translating words in her head. If Cas' language just comes to her more easily -- he knows she's more advanced in it and he tries not to resent it. He really does. But he can't help but feel cut off from that part of her life. From that part of her and Cas' lives. All the conversations that he'll never be a part of and never understand. A few words here or there, especially from Elle, he can understand somewhat - the stuff that's pretty close to Enochian. If it was straight Enochian maybe he could learn but it's -- it's like nothing else. Cas says it's the true language of angels that Enochian is only what humans could grasp.

No matter what it is, he's still left out.

"Real lions can," Dean tells her, though he really doesn't have a clue if they can or not. Cats don't like water but they should be able to swim. "But you can give your lion a bath while I give you one."

Elle leans away to snatch up her lion while she giggles. Dean keeps his hands on her back to steady her, to keep her from falling. That's his job.

She holds the lion close and babbles to it, Dean's pretty sure most of it is that airy angelic tongue. He's not going to resent this. Then she looks back up at him and says something in that same language.

Dean can't understand her. He wants to, God does he want to, but he can't. "Elle --"

Elle repeats it looking more frustrated, as if she doesn't understand why he's not listening.

"Baby girl, I can't understand you," Dean says softly, running his fingers over her dark curls. "This daddy doesn't speak that. Your other daddy does."

He tries to distract himself from the crushing feeling in his chest, the feeling that maybe this is the other shoe dropping, by thinking that he and Cas need to decide which one of them is daddy and what the other one should be. Then he remembers she already has another name for Cas. In their tongue.

Elle goes silent, her eyes as intense as her other father's. Then she pats his face, and give his wet kiss on the cheek. "Bath too?"

"Nah, this is your bath time, but that doesn't mean I won't get wet. Did Uncle Sammy teach you the splash game?" Dean asks her.

She shakes her head. "Splash?"

Dean grins at her, pushing everything else away in his head. "Splashing is the best part of baths. And we've gotta practice for when your other daddy gives you a bath."

Elle giggles. "Splash daddies?"

"I bet you'll be the best at it," Dean promises. He tests the water one more time. The tub isn't filled too high, just in case. He had scares with Sammy when he was a toddler. And shit, what was Dad thinking letting a little kid give a toddler a bath?

He still remembers how Sam cried when the water was too hot once. It was only luck that he didn't let Sam drown at some point because shit, he was kid too.

The water's fine though and he puts Elle into the water. He'd added some bubbles using some motel shampoo when the water was still running. She pats at the water and drags her lion through it. She grabs at the bubbles and giggles when they dissolve in her hand.

"Splash?" she asks after a bit of playing, tilting her head to the side.

She's way too like Cas sometimes.

"Oh that's easy, sweetheart." He puts his hand in the water and very gently splash her being careful not to her any soap in her eyes.

Elle giggles and squeals. "Elle splash!" she declares pushing her hand through the water, towards Dean.

She manages to get some of the front of Dean's shirt wet. Though he is leaning over the tub.

The splashing lessons take up most of bath time, before Dean even starts washing her with a wash cloth. Elle giggles and squirms, and Dean gets progressively wetter, but he doesn't care at all.

As he drags the wash cloth across her back, he remembers. He remembers being four and sitting on the kitchen counter by the sink. The sink full of water and bubbles. Laughter as his baby brother splashed him and their mom. _"You're such a good big brother, Dean."_

Elle's dunking her lion under the water and swirling him around like the lion is swimming. He blinks rapidly and smiles down at his small daughter, "So your lion can swim after all."

"Like fish," Elle chirps happily.

They finish the bath, and the getting out and drying off process leaves Dean more than a little drenched. But he wraps his baby girl up in a towel and kisses her forehead. She cuddles into him. "Splashing fun."

"Yeah, it is. And your Uncle Sammy? Loves being splashed."


End file.
